Campfire pit



June 2, 1970 F. w. BELLER 3,515,118

GAMPFIRE PIT Filed Sept. 13, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 2, 1970 F. w. BELLER 3, 8.

CAMPFIRE PIT Filed Sept. 15, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent US. Cl. 126-29 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A campfire pit-grill for permanent placement on the ground with a concrete base.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Prudence dictates that campfires and cooking fires in public recreational areas, such as campers areas, he restricted or confined to fire-safe equipment. This equipment should be maintenance-free, rugged, durable, relatively inexpensive to purchase and install; and yet, it should not detract from the get-aWay-from-it-all atmosphere which is so desirable and so valuable in recreational areas. Finally, the equipment should be readily usable by relatively inexperienced individuals both as a controlled campfire facility, and as a cooking grill.

It is the purpose of this invention to provide a metal campfire pit-grill for permanent placement in the ground in a concrete curb which provides all of the above advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The firebox of the campfire pit-grill of this invention is defined by four metal sides which taper inwardly and downwardly when in place. The firebox is open at the top and bottom. It has outwardly extending horizontal flanges at the tops of the sides, a horizontally pivotable grate secured to one of the flanges, stop means to limit rotation of the grate on one of the flanges, and means for manually grasping and moving the grate, said means being attached to the grate at a side of the grate opposite the side which contacts the stop means.

The firebox is placed in a curb of concrete which is sufficiently wide to prevent downward tipping of the grate when it is pivoted to a position which provides access to the firebox. The concrete is preferably'poured around the firebox using the firebox as an inner form in such a manner that the flanges are substantially flush with the top of the concrete. It is essential, however, that the concrete not enclose the bottom of the firebox, so that in the use of this invention fires are built directly on the ground or on other material through which water can drain into the earth. The concrete curb is preferably poured to extend about 4 inches above the level of the ground.

DESIGNATION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the'campfire pitgrill of this invention in place in a concrete curb in the ground.

' FIG. 2 is a top view of a campfire pit-grill of this invention in a concrete curb.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken approximately along the line 33 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partially cross-sectioned perspective view illustrating means by which the grill is pivoted.

FIG. 5 is a top view similar to that of FIG. 2 illustrating an alternative structure in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention.

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DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Although the following disclosure offered for public dissemination in return for the grant of a patent, is detailed to ensure adequacy and aid understanding, this is not intended to prejudice that purpose of a patent which is to cover each new inventive concept therein no matter how others may later disguise it by variations in form or additions or further improvements. The claims at the end hereof are intended as the chief aid toward this purpose; as it is these that meet the requirement of pointing out the parts, improvements, or combinations in which the inventive concepts are found.

In a preferred embodiment of the campfire pit-grill of this invention the firebox 10 is embedded in a concrete curb 11 which provides a substantially horizontal shelf 13 on all sides of the firebox. The sides of the firebox taper inwardly and downwardly as perhaps seen in FIGIS. 3 and 4. At the top of the sides a flange 15 extends horizontally outwardly from each side of the firebox on substantially the same level as ledge or shelf 13. In the preferred assembly of the installed unit firebox 10- is positioned to serve as an inner form for the pouring and shaping of the concrete curb 11. Thus in screeding and finishing the exposed top surface 13 of the concrete curb 11, flanges 15 serve as the inner guide, so that shelf or ledge 13 thus becomes substantially on the same level as the top surface of ledge 15.

Pivotable grate 20 is secured at one side to flange .15. Preferably, the grate includes rugged crosbars 22 welded between bar frame element 23 (e.g. round bar stock). The illustrated means for horizontally pivoting the grate includes pipe segment 21 which is welded to bar frame element 23 at an outer edge of the grate. Bolt 24 passes through pipe segment 21 and through hole 26 in flange 15 and is secured therein by nut 25. At an opposite corner of the grate is ring 30 which passes through bar frame element 23 to provide means for manually pivoting grate 20 around bolt 24. Preferably, ring 30 fits loosely in a hole in frame element 23, and thus a minimum heat transfer can occur from element 23 to ring 30. Moreover, when grate is pivoted in the cooking position, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5, rings 30 lay in a position which makes them unavailable to receive heat from the firebox by direct radiation.

When the campfire pit-grill of this invention is to be converted from its campfire pit condition illustrated in FIG. 1 to the grill configuration illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5, the camper grasps ring 30 and pivots grate 20 around post 24 until frame element 23 strikes stop element 31 which is preferably a segment of bar stock welded to flange 15 near its lateral edge. This aids in positioning grate 20 so that it is supported at all four corners.

The relatively flush horizontal surface provided by top edge of flange 15 and the top face 13 of concrete curb 11 not only provides a warming shelf for use during the cooking operation, but perhaps more importantly serves to stabilize grate 20 when the grate is in the swung-open position illustrated in FIG. 1. Thus when the camper wishes to stir the fire, add more fuel, etc., grate 20 can be pivoted to the open condition without necessarily removing utensils or foodstuffs residing thereon, in order to provide access to the firebox. This also substantially eliminates the risk of contaminating meat or other foodstuff residing on the grill with fly ash carried upwardly by the fires draft when the coals are disturbed. Pouring concrete directly against the firebox in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention provides a substantial seal between the metallic elements, e.g. flanges 15 and firebox side walls 12, and concrete elements, e.g. top surface 13, and inner walls 14. Moreover horizontal flange'15 assists in the formation of a seal which substantially prevents passage" of water from top surface also prevents steam formation during times at which side walls 12 are subjected to heat. Moreover the novel combination of metal and concrete in accordance with this invention provides a ruggedness which is virtually essential in public recreational equipment. I have found that the flush-mounting of the firebox flanges in the concrete curbs, and face-to-face abutting of the firebox side-walls with the concrete curb inner walls helps prevent substantial distortion of flanges and side walls in spite of abusive slamming of logs and other objects against the exposed metal surfaces thereof.

I have found that providing tapered side walls which taper inwardly at the rate of an inch or more per foot of height of wall helps to center the fire and that this automatically provides greater amounts of ventilation which, in turn, provides easier burning.

The open bottom feature of the campfire pit-grill of this invention allows drainage of rainwater out of the firebox enclosure. This lessens the chances of damage due to freezing of trapped water during the winter, and better assures a dry base on which to build a fire.

I claim:

1. A campfire pit-grill permanently placed in the ground comprising the combination: a firebox having an open top and bottom and having inwardly and downwardly tapering side walls, each of said side walls having a flange extending outwardly and horizontally therefrom at the top of said side wall; a grate; means for pivotally securing said grate to one of said flanges; means for stopping rotation of said grate in a position in which the grate is supported on the flanges; grasping means for manually moving the grate about said pivot means, said grasping means being attached to said grate; a concrete curb extending completely around said firebox, said curb having a top horizontal face which is substantially flush with the top of said flanges, the concrete in said curb abutting the underside of said flanges and the outside of said inwardly tapering side walls in a face-to-face relationship, the upper horizontal face of said curb extending outwardly from said pivot means for a suflicient distance to stabilize said grate in a substantially horizontal position when the grate is pivoted open to provide access to the firebox, whereby a fire can be built directly on the ground or on material in direct water-porous communication with the ground within the side Walls of the firebox.

2. The campfire pit-grill of claim 1 in which the grasping means is a metal ring loosely fitting in a hole through a portion of the grate, said ring being attached at a position which is unavailable to heat radiation from within said firebox.

3. A campfire pit-grill of claim 1 in which said pivot means are secured near one corner of the grate, the grasping means are secured to a second corner diagonal to said first corner, and said stop means are secured to the flange in position such that it can strike the grate near a third corner thereof. 7

. 4. A campfire pit-grill firmly placed in the ground comprising the combination:

a firebox having an open top and bottom and having inwardly and downwardly tapering sidewalls, each of said sidewalls having a flange extending outwardly and horizontally therefrom at the top of said sidewall;

a pair of grates;

means for pivotally securing each of said grates to one of said flanges;

means for stopping rotationof each of said grates 4 in a position in which each on flanges;

grasping means for manually moving each of the grates about said pivot means, said grasping means being attached to each respective grate;

concrete curb means for securing said firebox in the ground, said curb means having a top horizontal face which is substantially flush with the top of said flanges, concrete in said curb means abutting the underside of the flanges and the outside of said in wardly tapering sidewalls in a face-to-face relationship, the upper horizontal face of said curb extending outwardly from said pivot means for a suflicient distance to stabilize each of said grates in a substantially horizontal position when the said grates are pivoted open to provide access to the firebox, whereby a fire can be built directly on the ground or on material in direct water-porous communication with the ground within the sidewalls of the firebox.

5. The campfire pit-grill of claim 4 in which the grasping means comprises a metal ring loosely fitting in a hole through a portion of the respective grate, said ring being attached at a position which is unavailable to direct heat radiation from within said firebox.

6. A campfire pit-grill of claim 4 in which said pivot means are secured near one corner of the grate, the grasping means are secured at a second corner diagonal to said first corner, and said stop means are secured to the flange in a position such that it can strike the grate near a third corner thereof.

7. A campfire pit-grill permanently placed in the ground comprising the combination:

a firebox having an open top and bottom and having inwardly and downwardly tapering sidewalls, each of said sidewalls having a flange extending outwardly and horizontally therefrom at the top of said sidewall;

a grate;

means for pivotally securing said grate to one of said flanges, whereby said grate is pivotable to a first and second position, said grate being supported by flanges when in said first position, said grate being swung away from over the firebox, when in said second position, thereby making the firebox accessible from above;

grasping means for manually moving the grate between said first and second positions, said grasping means being attached to said grate;

a concrete curb having a top horizontal face which is substantially flush with the top of said flanges, said concrete in the curb abutting the underside of said flanges, and the outside of said inwardly tapering sidewalls in face-to-face relationship, the upper horizontal face of said curb extending outwardly from said pivot means for a suflicient distance to stabilize said grate in a substantially horizontal position when the grate is pivoted to said second position, whereby a fire can be built directly on the ground, or on material in direct water-porous communication with the ground within the sidewalls of the firebox.

of the grates issupported 7/1957 Begalka 126-25 X 12/1957 Miller et al. l2625 CHARLES J. MYHRE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 1268, 25 

